Boat engine



Nov. 28, 1961 H. R. BRAKENSIEK BOAT ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April15, 1959 INVENTOR. [Z9227 1e. Beams/van? BY Z W 3 firraezveys.

Nov. 28, 1961 H. R. BRAKENSIEK BOAT ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April15. 1959 INVENTOR. 59.02) 1?. BPflkN8lEK BY Z W Z firms/vars.

3,dltl,422 Patented Now as, real lice 3,010,422 BOAT ENGINE Harry R.Brakensiek, 6132 Lorelei Ave., Lakewood, Calif. Filed Apr. 15, 1959,Ser. No. 806,583 6 Claims. (Cl. 11534) This invention relates to anengine for boats.

Boating has become extremely popular during recent years, dueprincipally to advances made in outboard motors which are relativelyinexpensive and now highly efficient. The combined low cost andadaptability of a boat hull without inboard power propulsion and anoutboard motor has made boating available to many who could nototherwise aiford it.

However, propulsion of a boat by an inboard engine has many advantagesover propulsion by an outboard motor, the principal advantage being thatlocation of the engine inboard, nearer to the center of gravity of theboat, gives the boat much greater stability. Another advantage is thatinboard propulsion, with the weight of the engine placed nearer thecenter of gravity of the boat, permits a much more level ride than ispossible when the wei ht of an outboard engine is disposed far astern onthe transom of the boat.

Some disadvantages of a standard inboard installation are that anelaborate bed for the inboard engine must be provided, a long shaft isrequired, diflicult and impermanent watertight packing is necessary atthe point where the shaft pierces the hull, and propeller and shaftrppgirs are frequently ditficult and expensive to accomp is An object ofthe present invention is to provide an inboard boat engine modified froma standard outboard motor.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inboard engine whichmay be quickly and easily installed in a boat with a minimum ofalterations to the boat hull and without shaft packing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inboard boat enginewhich is efficient but relatively inexpensive and which requires aminimum of repair and maintenance.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description which follows taken inconjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially cut away, of a boat withthe engine installed therein.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an adaptor plate used tomount the engine on the hull.

FIGURE 3 is a view of the adaptor plate taken on the l ne 3-3 of FIGURE2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view taken on the line 55 of F GURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the watertight seal ofthe gear shift mechanism shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of theexhaust outlet assembly of the engine.

FIGURE 8 is a view taken on the line 88 of FIG- URE 7.

A boat 18 has a hull bottom 11 and an engine compartment 12 at the stemof said boat 10. An opening 13 is cut in the hull bottom 11, and adaptorplate 14 is mounted on said hull bottom in compartment 12 directly abovesaid opening 13, with gasket 15 disposed between said hull bottom 11 andadaptor plate 14. A plate extension preferably an integral part of saidadaptor plate 14, is tightly disposed in said opening 13 to form awatertight joinder therewith.

Adaptor plate 14 has a raised platform 2% formed as an integral partthereof. A channel 21 is formed in said platform 20, and adjacent tosaid channel 21 is a circular chamber 22. Drilled in said chamber 22 andextending through said entire platform 20, adaptor plate 14 and plateextension 16 is a first open-end bore 237 Open-end passage 24 givesaccess from circular chamber 22 to channel 21.

A plate 30 has an open-end bore 31 therein aligned with said open-endbore 23 in chamber 22. A tube 32 is tightly disposed in a secondopen-end bore 33 in plate 30 by means of watertight gasket or collar 34.Plate 30 is mounted on platform 20, preferably with a gasket 35therebetween. Mounting may be by any suitable means, such as by bolts36. The open end of tube 32 communicates through an opening in gasket 35with portion 37 of channel 21 so as to form a water passageway therewithwhen plate 30 is mounted on platform 20.

Plate 30 also has a third open-end bore 40 which is aligned with rightangled bore 41 in platform 29. Mounted externally of said platform 2%and having access to said bore 41 is elbow 42, to which hose line 43 isattached by any suitable means.

A fourth open-end bore 5!) is drilled in chamber 22 and extends parallelto first open-end bore 23 through platform 20, adaptor plate 14 andplate extension 16, and provides access to the intake ports hereinaftermentioned.

Disposed in said circular chamber 22 is an impeller 66 having flexiblearms 61 and an open-end collar 62 aligned with said first open-end bore23. Said collar bore has a key slot 63 therein, adapted to receive aspur 64 on a main motor shaft65.

Mounted on the plate 39 is an engine assembly 70, preferably a standardoutboard internal combustion engine assembly consisting of a cylinderhead, cylinders, piston combination, adapted to drive the shaft 65, andhaving starter means 71.

Shaft 65 is loosely disposed in open-end bores 23 and 31, so as toprovide ample clearance room for insertion of the shaft therein.

Standard outboard motor lower propeller assembly 80, consisting of askeg 81, pivotally mounted propeller 82, and a transmission (not shown),and including water intake ports 83, is mounted on plate extension 16,and main shaft 65 is connected to propeller 32 by the said transmissionmeans.

It will be recognized that because the center clamping and steeringmeans of a standard outboard motor have been eliminated in the assemblyof the present invention, the shaft 65 may be -a standard outboard motormain shaft, foreshortened to extend from the engine assembly 70, throughthe plate 30, gasket 35, platform 20, keel plate 14, gasket 15, andplate extension 16, into the transmission in the lower propellerassembly 89.

An open-end passage 99 is provided in adapter plate 14 and plateextension 16, and is spaced from platform 26. Pivotally mounted onplatform 20 adjacent to said passage 9% is lever arm 91, on which gearshift shaft 92 is pivotally mounted intermediate the ends of said leverarm 91 and in alignment with passage 99. Said shaft 2 is slideablydisposed in said passage 90.

Frustro-coni'cal gasket 93, having open-end chamber 94, is disposed inpassage at the lower surface of plate extension 16, and is held inposition by any suitable means such as bolts 94 shown in FIGURES 2 and6. Shaft 92 is dispoesd in chamber 94 in such manner as to be slideabletherein, but so that said gasket 93 forms a substantially watertightjoint around said shaft 2.

Gear shift shaft 92 is connected internally of the lower propellerassembly 80 with a transmission (not shown).

The free end 95 of lever arm 91 is connected by standard remoteconnection means 96 to standard gear shift lever means 97 mountedforward in the boat 10, as best shown in FIGURE 1.

A rudder 100 is pivotally mounted on hull bottom 11 aft of propeller 82,and is connected by standard rope or cable means 101 to a steeringapparatus 102 in recognizedmanner, all as shown in FIGURE 1.

Exhaust pipe 110 is mounted in opening 111 of transom 112, above thewaterline of boat 10 and is connected to exhaust manifold unit 113,which in turn is mounted on engine assembly 76. Exhaust manifold unit113 has an open-end passage 114 therein, and mounted at the external endof said passage 114 is elbow 115 to which hose line 43 is connected.

Standard remote acceleration means, shown at 201 in FIGURE 1, are alsoprovided.

When the motor, mounted inboard as hereinabove described, is started,water for cooling, impelled by impeller 60, enters through ports 83 andfollows bore 5t into chamber 22. It next flows through passage 24 andchannel 21, up tube 32 and into the standard circulating systern ofengine assembly 70. It then returns through bores 40 and 41 to elbow 42,hose line 43 and manifold 113 to exhaust pipe 110, whence it isexhausted into the air, along with the exhaust gases from the engine.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatis conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as toembrace any and all equivalent structures.

'Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. An inboard boat engine which comprises: an adaptor plate including animpeller compartment; an outboard motor lower propeller assembly mountedon one surface of said adaptor plate; an engine assembly mounted on theother surface of said adaptor plate; a motor shaft between said engineassembly and said lower propeller assembly, rotationally disposed insaid adaptor plate and passing through said impeller compartmentthereof; and circulatory water cooling means adapted for intake of waterat the lower propeller assembly, circulation of said water through saidadaptor plate and about said engine assembly, and exhaust of said water,said means including an impeller disposed within said impellercompartment and rotatably carried on said shaft.

2. A boat engine as claimed in claim 1 in which said adaptor plate has astraight passageway which receives said motor shaft, said straightpassageway having an enlarged portion providing said impellercompartment; and separate passageway means formed on opposing sides ofsaid impeller compartment for carrying water therethrough in a directionperpendicular to said shaft. 7

3. An inboard boat engine which comprises; an adaptor plate; an outboardmotor lower propeller assembly mounted on one surface of said adaptorplate; remote control gear shift means connected to said lower propellerassembly; an engine assembly mounted on the other surface of saidadaptor plate; remote control acceleration and deceleration meansconnected to said engine assembly; a motor shaft between said engineassembly and said lower propeller assembly, rotationally disposed insaid adaptorplate, and adapted to be driven by said engine assembly andto drive said propeller assembly; and circulatory water cooling meansadapted for intake of water at the lower propeller assembly, circulationof said water through said adaptor plate and about said engine assembly,and exhaust of said water into the atmosphere.

4. An inboard boat engine which comprises: an adaptor plate having anopen end passage therein; an outboard motor lower propeller assemblymounted on one surface of said adaptor plate; remote control gear shiftmeans freely, slideably disposed in said open end passage and connectedto said lower propeller assembly; a frustroconical gasket disposed insaid passage and about said gear shift means, and adapted to form awater-tight joint; an engine assembly mounted on the other surface ofsaid adaptor plate; remote control acceleration and deceleration meansconnected to said engine assembly; a motor shaft between said engineassembly and said lower propeller assembly, rotationally disposed insaid adaptor plate and adapted to be driven by said engine assembly andto drive said propeller assembly; and circulatory water cooling meansadapted for intake of water at the lower propeller assembly, circulationof said water through said adaptor plate and about said engine assembly,and exhaust of said water into the atmosphere.

5. A boat engine as claimed in claim 4 in which said adaptor plate hasan impeller compartment formed therein, separate passageway means onopposing sides of said impeller compartment for carrying watertherethrough, and an impeller carried by said motor shaft and disposedwithin said impeller compartment.

6. An adaptor plate capable of being used in conjunction with a boathaving an opening in a flat under-portion of its hull, for supporting anengine assembly within the boat and an outboard motor lower propellerassembly underneath the boat in a cooperably operable relationship, saidadaptor plate comprising: a horizontally extending main body portion ofapproximately uniform thickness throughout and an integrally formedextension depending downwardly from said main body portion and adaptedto be tightly disposed in said boat hull opening to form a water-tightjoinder therewith; a first perpendicular bore extending verticallythrough both said main body portion and said extension for receiving amotor shaft'intercoupling said engine and propeller assemblies, saidfirst bore having an enlarged portion at its upper end providing animpeller compartment; a passageway communicating with one side of saidimpeller compartment and extending downwardly through said main bodyportion and said extension for carrying cooling water from saidpropeller assembly upwardly to said impeller compartment; and ahorizontal channel formed in the upper surface of said main body portioncommunicating with said impeller compartment for carrying water fromsaid impeller compartment to said engine assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,567,127 Evinrude Dec. 29, 1925 1,807,622 Colstad June 2, 19311,874,213 Wallace Aug. 30, 1932 2,656,812 Kiekhaefer Oct. 27, 19532,718,792 Kiekhaefer Sept. 27, 1955 2,796,737 Harger June 25, 1957

